In 2012, Vijay and Sushil Kumar, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and Yogeshwar
Dutt brought pride to the nation by winning medals in their respective sports
at the Summer Olympics in London. But will an Indian bring laurels to the
country at the current Olympics being held at Rio? Maybe or maybe not, this is
what many would say, considering the state of affairs of the Indian contingent.
And why isn’t there any buzz related to the Olympics in Goa?
Keenan Vaz, a lad from the south of Goa, is a Ranji Trophy
cricketer. He says that Goans don’t have much interest in others sports like
they do with football. “Goans are football crazy and with a small number of top
footballers participating, it doesn’t catch one’s attention, especially after
watching a good Euro Cup,” he asserts. He also opines that broadcasting
channels don’t focus on Indian athletes that are medal contenders. As the games
continue in Rio, India is yet to open their account. On the third day of the
event, much hope rested on the shoulders of Abhinav Bindra. He once bagged a
gold medal for India in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10 metre air rifle
competition; a feat that not every businessman like him can achieve. However,
the spirit of the nation was dampened when he lost in a shoot-off tie-breaker
round against Ukrainian Serhiy Kulish and came fourth in the competition. He
has also stated that he has decided to retire from the sport.
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Rose Rhea Rebelo, a national basketball player for the state and
student of Don Bosco College of Engineering, says that the lack of Olympic buzz
is mainly because of the time difference between Brazil and India. “There are
sporting events that are held early in the morning according to Indian time. So
it’s difficult to watch as I’m either asleep or getting ready for college.
Besides that, I love the game of basketball. I can’t see India contesting and
thus have no interest in watching other teams compete at the Olympics,” she
asserts. Conrad Barreto, the founder of The Football Dug Out says that there is
hardly any Olympic buzz not only in Goa but also in most parts of the world
including Brazil itself. “Before the start of the Olympics, it was only the
controversies that made news. Also, we’ve hardly done well at the games and
many of the events that India participates in are not telecast, so that is
probably the reasons why there’s lack of a buzz in Goa.”
So while Goa may not partake in the Olympic vibe based on
reasons mentioned above, a few eyes are glued to see the power of an Indian
woman being showcased at the Olympics. It is the first time that an Indian
Gymnast, a girl from Tripura, has qualified for the individual vault finals.
Her name is Dipa Karmarkar and she stands a chance to win a medal for India on
the fourteenth of August. Will she win it? Let’s hope for the best.
